Strange Victory, Strange Defeat

Our farm's name and ethos are a tribute to the late singer, songwriter, poet, and philosopher David Cloud Berman. Berman, who tragically passed away in 2019, was best known for his bands "Silver Jews" and "Purple Mountains," as well as his poetry, notably captured in the book "Actual Air". His music and writing have profoundly influenced this aspiring farmer, hence the farm's name.

Watch a rare performance of "Strange Victory, Strange Defeat" by Silver Jews at Juan's Basement. The song's lyrics, featured on Silver Jews' final album "Lookout Mountain, Lookout Sea" from 2008, are reproduced in full:

Squirrels imported from Connecticut, Just in time for fall

How much fun is a lot more fun? Not much fun at all

What's with all the handsome grandsons in these rock band magazines?

And what have they done with the fat ones? The bald and the goatee'd?

Strange victory! Strange victory! Strange victory! Strange defeat.

A tale is told of a band of squirrels, Who lived in defiance of defeat

They woke up in the nightmare world, of craven mediocrity

They said, "We're coming out of the black patch! We're coming out of the pocket!

We're calling into question, such virtue gone to seed!"

Strange victory! Strange victory! Strange victory! Strange defeat;

Strange victory! Strange victory! Strange victory! Strange defeat.

The song's core metaphors are a nod to the children's fable "The Tale of Squirrel Nutkin" by Beatrix Potter. Much like Squirrel Nutkin, who rebelled against the status quo by challenging old Mr. Brown, we at Strange Victory are the Nutkins of agriculture. Nutkin's antics, though mischievous, were a protest against the rigid hierarchy and expectations set by the owl. In our fields, we challenge the agricultural "Mr. Browns" - the systems that demand conformity and exploit both land and farmer. Nutkin's playful rebellion, where he refused to bow down and instead danced, taunted, and spoke in riddles, mirrors our approach. We dance with the seasons, taunt the unsustainable practices with our thriving ecosystems, and show our unique spirit through regenerative methods that respect the earth's natural rhythms. Our rebellion is not just against but for something: for a return to the true virtues of agriculture, where every seed planted is an act of defiance against the status quo, and every harvest a celebration of life and community.

Additionally, the phrase "virtue gone to seed" echoes Ralph Waldo Emerson's essay on "Manners," where fashion is described as:

Fashion, though in a strange way, represents all manly virtue. It is virtue gone to seed: it is a kind of posthumous honor. It does not often caress the great, but the children of the great: it is a hall of the Past. It usually sets its face against the great of this hour. Great men are not commonly in its halls: they are absent in the field: they are working, not triumphing.

At Strange Victory, we see conventional agriculture much like Ralph Waldo Emerson viewed fashion - as "virtue gone to seed." It's a shadow of what farming could be, its virtues no longer fresh or dynamic, and many of the old virtues of the small scale local family farm have been corrupted by a bloated, multinational industrial agriculture that neither works for the health of the farmers, the land, or the community. We're here to cultivate a new era where agriculture works with nature’s cycles, not against them. We're breaking from the old, tired ways, sowing seeds of sustainability, biodiversity, and community engagement in our local scene, ensuring the future of farming is as vibrant and alive as the soil we’re stewarding.